Misha

Noel, Thank you for the answer. I admire your positive spirit, even if this never hits the DAW! Hats off to you and the crew for doing absolutely amazing job in maintaining Cakewalk. I never expected such pace of progress after Gibson thing. Thank you and Happy New Year! Misha.

Noel, Thank you for your time! Can you please tell me if what I am asking is possible. I am not requesting a feature here (now), I am just trying to understand... When FX button on top is pressed, it is almost instant, like a light switch. "Scenes" seem to actually load/unload things, sometimes making Cakewalk unstable. In theory, is it possible to have a mechanism that would selectively turn off some FX, leaving others from/in sound engine, same way all of FX are turned on/off with the button on top? Basically splitting the VST load to two parts, which can be turned on/off Globally independently? Or it is not possible by design? Thank you.

Scook, Noel, thank you. Got it. Have to figure out another workflow with Melodyne as far as scenes go. Vicious circle. I just wish there was a way to selectively turn FX on / off from sound engines as a particular "heavy" group, without deleting them. Would help with tracking / mixing workflow. Basic example: You have 15 VSTs FX in FX bins and 2 FX buttons on top. One turns on/off 4 VSTs from sound engine second button turns on/off all 15 (or remaining 11) P.S. Touch navigation sucks on Melodyne. I wish touch was streamlined to have same feel as Cakewalk

Noel, Scook Thank you. I am using it as FX insert on individual track(s). It "produces" clips with transfer button on VST, so I assume it is considered a clip based plugins and will not work properly with "scenes". Ohh, I wish Cakewalk would have 2-3 FX On/Off switches for different scenarios, so it does not load or unload FX, but takes it out of sound engine just like that single FX doing now... just selectively. Maybe one day

Martin, Thank you. That one I knew I think I even requested a feature of a couple of these FX on/off buttons... For example one for heavy duty VSTs and one for light things.

Noel, Martin , Thank you! I checked, and basic stuff seems to be saving. It is just the Melodyne thing is a new beast to me As I understand, it is acting as a sampler in a way. It captures the track and saves audio to its folder and when project is re-opened, it loads those Melodyne tracks to the project... So if I have two scenes, one with Melodyne and one without Melodyne, once I load the scene without Melodyne from the scene with Melodyne, it will unload all of it from the engine and once I switch to scene with Melodyne back, it will load VST plus all of the audio data for it. So in theory I can go back and forth. The reason I am asking, I just got Melodyne and tried it on already established project. Everything kind of worked for a while...then clicking scene change started to crash Cakewalk. I suspect it is Melodyne, because it is the only "new" thing that was brought into equation. I have to do more testing to figure out what exactly crashing my Cakewalk. Maybe it is just that project and combination of VSTs used. Thank you, M.

CJ Jacobson, Thank you! I was a little concerned about more complex plugin save states as Kontakt or Melodyne. I just got a basic Melodyne to play with, as I understand it saves actual "captured" audio files to HD... Another question, please. I know there are "workarounds" when working on single project for tracking and mixing. To have some CPU / iO overhead for tracking, it seems that "scenes" are the most straight forward approach. Is this the most common workflow for this or there is something else I should look into? Thank you!

Hi Folks. A gentleman from the forum suggested that I try "Mixing Scenes" to manage VST FX for different situations. I started experimenting with it, seems it is doing what I want to accomplish. So it is clear, I want the scenes to work for two scenarios. Tracking "light" scene with 2&3 VSTs and Mixing "heavy" scene with 10+ VSTs on a single project. When making tunes, I work meticulously, so I want to ask somebody who actually tried and knows this, so I do not lose things Assuming I am working on a project, switching from "light" to "heavy" scene, changing things in VSTs (FX, Kontakt or Melodyne) in different scenes.... will a single File->Save click will save all VST parameters in all scenes that were changed? Or I have to pay attention to something particular? Thank you for your time!

Martin, I think you are totally right! This seems to be working almost exactly as I wanted. I only played with it a little today, but seems it will do the trick. I was worried, that it would not save "scenes" to Cakewalk's "Template", but it seems to be working fine. Thank you!!! Blue Cat items have very powerful features, but for this I will stick with Cakewalk's "scenes". Craig, I was talking about "selective" FX off/on from the audio engine. It does not work by turning a single FX on or off.... It is all or nothing (global FX). My main issue was having these "scenes" for different purposes in single project, which I totally forgot about and thankfully Martin reminded me where to look. Having 2-3 FX for tracking works fine on my system, 20+ FX slows everything down in unwanted direction. With "scenes" it lets me choose how many and type of FX I want to use almost on the fly, Instead of deleting and inserting or turning off globally... it is one button operation once you set everything to your liking.

Hi Folks! For a couple of years I was considering of purchasing Blue Cat's PatchWork for some stuff outside of Cakewalk. Still can not decide if I need it or not. One of the things in Cakewalk that I do not like, is that even if VST FX is turned off, but present in the bay, it will use CPU resources, because if I remember correctly it is called "hot", meaning it is always on standby. Unless global FX is turned off of course. The list of features and possibilities of BC Patchwork is astonishing, but I was wondering if somebody with experience with this plugin can help me to understand if it will work the way I hope it will in real world. Workflow I am after: Usually I work with about 15-20 tracks. I want 2-3 FX scenarios, that I can recall/change easily. FX light, with 1-4 FX instances for tracking FX heavy, for mixdown FX sketch pad, medium FX load to try out different FX stuff. Is this possible to achieve with BC Patchwork? To have these "FX scenarios" and change them quickly depending on situation? Thank you!

I think, it reminds us that there should be a balance between new and shiny default features of plugins and how it interacts with actual system it is being installed on and running project Perhaps a more generous & universal monitoring system (analyzer) , that will allow not only monitor but adjust latency related items in a single place? Settings could include something like: Wizard-for new comers / Intermediate for someone like me / and advanced, for seasoned users. I know it is probably a little dumbed down request, but most likely would benefit many..

Martin, I followed instructions from Fabfilter: Windows: Click the Start button, type 'regedit', Enter to open the Registry Editor. (You might have to give permission to continue.) Navigate to HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\FabFilter. Right-click and select New > DWORD (32-bit) Value. Name it GraphicsAcceleration and ensure its value is 0.

Martin, Now sure what plugins you are using, I guess process is somewhat similar. This was for mine: "HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\FabFilter. Right-click and select New > DWORD. Name it GraphicsAcceleration and ensure its value is 0."

Thank you everyone for help and encouragement! I spent quite some time today trying different scenarios, eliminating / re-inserting / re-routing VSTs. Finally, I believe I fixed it. Issue was not multiple instances of same FX or even huge number of take lanes... What worked: 1)Disabling graphic acceleration for plugin group in regedit. 2) Disabling "look ahead" items. 3) Turning off "True Peak Limiting" in limiter. P.S. azslow3, I like that : "you can not reduce the size of your shadow by running faster..."

Starship Krupa, Thank you for reply! interesting! So lets say if I upgrade and do not like what I see, I can replace Core folder and it will run the version that I copied last? That seems like a very simple solution. I wonder, if it will de-authorize at some point if left on same machine without updating? Here is the thing. Right now Cakewalk is near perfect for what I am doing (and was doing for many years). My biggest issue was take lane behavior and HUGE thanks to Noel and crew that was addressed. I have seen in the past with some software titles "updates" screwed up workflow and even reduced useful features, so having the "previous" version could be very useful.

azslow3, Thank you for reply! "It is good to identify which plug-ins introduce which latency and what is complete routing"... I am messy with my plugins. If I feel one is needed where it is needed, I will just slap it there, without too much thought how it will affect latency. Machines are getting faster and software smarter, so I hope this latency "thing" is a downhill battle. But for now... Instead of wrestling with particular plugin or plugin manufacturer, I think the easiest path would be to automate how FX engine works. On playback / Off on recording. I guess, since nobody answered it is not that simple. If a particular plugin could be excluded from recording and included on playback on main FX engine, it would worth to investigate and try to address the issue of particular VST. But as I understand it is all or nothing on main FX engine. Scook, Thank you for the link. Interesting plugin, but again it is same scenario. I do not want to give up the plugins I am using, even if they report PDC incorrectly. I rather disable FX engine on recording, however, automating it would save time by not clicking around constantly I feel I have to explain why I want to automate, instead of just clicking FX button. In a session, when I try out different phrasings, I can have dozens (sometimes over 100) takes of different parts, so I constantly Record->Listen->Record->Listen...over and over This is my workflow. I am not looking for suggestions on my workflow Just if the FX toggle can be automated.

Some software titles adopted a user manageable license, where you can authorize software online each time you run the program ( by having your licence online), or transfer your licence by attaching it to the Hard Drive or Flashdrive ID and move it back and forth from online to PC, as you see fit. I guess, one of my biggest concerns is not of Cakewalk closing doors, I am optimistic about that. I am mainly concerned if a pushed update will change workflow to undesirable direction, there is no "going back a version" mechanism. I am only a human, it is nearly impossible to predict where Cakewalk is going, but I wonder, what percentage of current users would pay to have a permanent, non expiring licence of current version? Perhaps Bandlab can develop a cool plugin, that they would sell... and as a bonus will include unlocked offline version of Cakewalk, that will share same licence as plugin

John, Yes, I do get this is one "solution", but can this FX toggle be automated? I do not want to go to boring details, but it is about a specific tracking workflow. martsave martin s, I believe Scook or Noel mentioned (if I understood correctly) that you can not bypass FX engine by disabling FX bin, or particular FX at the track or bus., only magical FX toggle button on top will truly bypass FX load, it is not selective.... That was my understanding on how it works.

martsave martin s, Yes, I have FX on master bus and some of the individual tracks. ---- azslow3, Yes, recording "dry" with FX engine off...records correctly. I mainly use Fabfilter plugins. They do have "look ahead" and most likely other items that probably screws up timing... I do not know. Going through all instances, turning features on/off constantly besides their main task is way too time consuming. Some plugins (I believe Izotope) have cross reference controls that would control some plugin features in multiple instances through one place. I suggested a feature to F.Filter team to have a control "junction" for all FF plugins used in single project that would control latency. Low, Medium, High. A rep came up with this answer:"Thanks for your request. Isn't this what the delay compensation in your DAW is doing?" So here I am I guess, if it can not be corrected by a simple setting in a one (or two) place(s) and to have all those wonderful plugins in multiple instances, the easiest approach would be turn off FX engine for recording and turn it on for playback/mixing. If this is the case, is there a way to automate FX engine to have this behavior? Thank you!

Scook, Martsave martin s, Thank you for replies! I do not have issue with dropouts, "only" latency. Yes, disabling FX engine works, but I thought that PDC would compensate for the plugin delay? I have not experimented with remove DC-offset yet. If there is no way to correct this plugin latency by adjusting common settings (not archiving, bouncing or using less plugins), is it possible to automate FX engine? Off -record / On -playback? Thank you.

Thanks for the reply. Bouncing, as I mentioned is not my preferred workflow. About muted things, to be clear, question was about muted take lanes, not entire track. Assuming I have 30 take lanes in a single track with 25 muted and 5 un-muted. Will those 25 contribute to latency? Thank you.

Hi Folks. Latency question. I must admit upfront, I am VST glutton. Average project: about 10 instrument tracks, couple of midi tracks and about 4 vocal tracks with many (many!) "take lanes" some active, most muted. A dedicated Asio (not wrapper) card: 128 samples / low latency setting.When full backing is ready, I record vocals. Vocal clips, when recorded are not synced correctly, I suspect because of the Plugin latency... at times clips are 1/2 + second off, so I have to move them manually. Do I use PDC of turn off FX engine when recording vocals? Or something else? Also, maybe it is related: does amount of muted take lanes significantly contribute to overall latency, or not? P.S. Sorry, not giving up VSTs or bouncing tracks Thank you in advance!

I was pleasantly surprised that old X1 opened recent project. I switched to Bandlab version in a week, after it came out. I do not regret a bit. I do not plan to use pre 2018 versions, unless there is no other choice. But I still believe it would be reasonable to permanently unlock paid things prior 2018, purely for backup purposes.

Sure. I am a weak player, but before that we need to ask Bakers to add "chess game room" to the forum... otherwise this thread will become longer than it needs to be

Well, seems nobody answered my question about the last program that allowed for completely offline registration, so I will give a partial answer myself. I found my old Sonar X1 DVD(Roland ver), I believe from 2011, which had offline registration, installed it on backup laptop, brought in current project (Oct 2019) and it opened just fine. Enough to pull stems if needed. Unless Bandlab allows for older (2017) paid software to be authorized same way, this will be my "offline" backup of program+projects. I like Cakewalk very much, and just hope that it will never become one of those "monthly subscription only" things. One of the last pieces of puzzle for me that got fixed by Noel and crew was issue were take lanes were recorded on muted take lanes. Cakewalk does 99% of what I need from DAW, all new features and fixes are just "dessert" to me. I do wish there was a mechanism to roll back & backup versions, in case possible "new" feature decides to interfere with workflow.